BC Nordic Masters

JANUARY 2000 NEWSLETTER

Larch Hills Fun Race Special
Make plans now for the 2000 Canadian Masters Championships and the Worlds at Kiruna
For a triple whammy consider going to the US Masters
The sprints are coming
So you want to be faster-Training for Master Skiers--BY PER GAARDER--Special to BC Nordic Masters

FALL IS HERE CAN SNOW BE FAR BEHIND

Over the summer I have been thinking about, and talking with, some members concerning our newsletter. For this issue I include information about upcoming events and background on the sprints. But the main focus of this issue concerns training. We have a volunteered original article on Masters Training by Per Gaarder, our own BC Master, based on his research and experience. In it he follows the exploits of Master X as a specific example- the article is complete, specific and thorough and any who want to can build her/his own training schedule following the principles laid out for Master X.

I thought the second article- on managing your training year- which I saw on the the Internet, makes a nice complement to Per's contribution.

No photos this issue, but for the next one I hope to have some good ones volunteered from YOU- please don't be shy. I hope you enjoy this issue.

MAKE PLANS NOW FOR THE 2000 CANADIAN MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS AND THE WORLDS AT KIRUNA

The dates and venue for the Canadian Masters Championships next spring are March 8-12 at North Bay Ontario. The events will be held in conjunction with the Ontario Provincial Championships. Current plans are for races on Thursday 9th March, Saturday 11th March and Sunday 12th March. I will keep you posted as further information becomes available. Keep track on Canadian Masters Cross Country Ski Association as things get finalized.

March 19-25, 2000 are the dates for next year's world Masters Championships, to be held at Kiruna, Sweden, about 90 minutes from Stockholm by air.

Kiruna has many kilometres of groomed trails that run through the city, making access from hotels to the stadium and main trails very simple. The stadium is 2 km from the city.

Entry forms can be downloaded from World Masters Cross Country

FOR A TRIPLE WHAMMY CONSIDER GOING TO THE US MASTERS

The dates of the AXCS National Masters 2000 Cross Country Ski Championships in St. Paul are February 5-11. The National Masters will attract nearly 500 top skiers from around the country and possibly around the world to ski in four different events taking place in St. Paul. The Championships will start out with a 30 KM freestyle race on Sunday the 6th of February. The following week will include Tuesday evening sprint relays on the newly lit Battle Creek Trails, and a two part pursuit race on Thursday and Friday. The famous Mora Vasaloppet Cross Country Ski Race will be an optional event for race participants. Want to know more?

US Masters Cross Country Ski Championships 2000

THE SPRINTS ARE COMING

Many of us saw the article about Sprints in the most recent issue of "Ski Cross Country". Here is follow up information on the sprints from CCBC who caution that this is still evolving and that guidelines, rules and regulations may still change.

Three formats are officially recognized by the International Ski Federation (FIS) at this time: Knock Out Sprints, Heat Sprints and Sprint Relays.

The Sprint Relay is basically a two person tag team relay in which each competitor tags off to a team mate after sprinting a leg of the relay. At the international level men are expected to race 4-6 legs each, at 800-1800 meters and women 3-5 legs each at 800-1800 meters. Juniors (international level) are at the low end of the course length scale. Distances need to be scaled down appropriately to meet the needs of developing skiers and the younger age groups skiing at the provincial level. This is a very strategic kind of racingwith close packed action throughout.

Heat Sprints are individual sprint events with a mass start. Preliminary heats are followed by quarter finals, semifinals and finals. They are designed using a morning qualifying round of sprints with 15 second interval individual starts to determine start positions. The results from the qualifying round will rank the athletes and the top 32 (or 16 depending on the field size) will advance to the final rounds. This qualifying round will be timed to 1/100 second and these times will be used to rank racers as they are eliminated in subsequent heats. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals will run with heats of four racers starting together, two go on and two are eliminated. Heat Sprints are scheduled for both the 2000 World Junior Championships and 2001 World Championships, and they are proposed for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Knock Out Sprints are a head to head style competition where the winner moves on and the loser is out or has a consolation round.

The information given here is a synopsis- you will find much more detail on team composition, entry rules, start order, changes of team composition and exchange zones and finish rules on the Cross Country BC website